Alden is Nathaniel's younger brother and Oliver's Father. Peter begins as a character who is primarily concerned with entertainment and the exploration of the world around him. This leads to a falling out with Nathaniel, which in turn, leads to Peter being sent to a boarding school where he accidentally kills a night guard during a prank. Peter is forced into exile and begins a long journey that reshapes his character. He travels the world looking for peace, but finds none. He studies medicine abroad and begins to experiment with drugs. He becomes confused, and internally conflicted, leaving him to seek help from a psychiatrist. After moving onto his psychiatrist's estate, Peter eventually marries the psychiatrist's daughter. They produce one child, Oliver. Afterwards, Peter becomes more conflicted and prefers to stay on his yacht on the sea. He continues to abuse drugs, and eventually takes his own life. Miss. Harriet Bumstead/ Mrs. Harriet Alden is Peter's wife and Oliver's mother. She has an extremely high opinion of herself and religiously shows it. She pushes Oliver into sports and other engagements in an effort to keep him focused on duty. She doesn't want take care of Oliver while he is a child so she hires Irma Schlote to be his caretaker. Mrs. Alden never seems to care for Oliver outside his social standing, believing his actions are a reflection on her. Letitia Lamb is Harriet Bumstead's friend. She lives in a women's boarding house and likes to collect art. She appears to be very kind and fond of Oliver. She eventually takes over the job that Irma Schlote left towards the end of her and Mrs. Alden's lives. Oliver Alden is the protagonist. Oliver is the son of Peter and Harriet Alden and is born into money. He starts his life experimenting and learning, and quickly develops a sense of duty. Although Oliver determines that he hates doing a great many things, football for example, he does them anyway because he feels it is his duty. His sense of duty often conflicts with his desires and a reasonable course of action derived from his experiences. He understands that Puritanism, chiefly characterized by his sense of duty, moral absolutism, and idealism, is self-destructive and conclusively leads to its own dismissal, yet he continues his allegiance duty because it is the core of his value system. Oliver enters World War I and becomes